Brant Hunts

If you have not hunted the tidal
waters of the Atlantic coast, chances are you have never encountered
Atlantic Brant. Brant are a sea going goose, seldom if ever going
ashore during the winter months. They feed and roost in the saltwater
tidal bays along the Atlantic coast. They are seldom found in brackish
water and I have never seen or heard of them being found in fresh
water.

Their diet consists solely of
saltwater aquatic vegetation. The two main food sources are eelgrass
and kelp. Eelgrass is about the size of a piece of linguini. It is
brown and green in color and floats on the surface. Drifting throughout
the bays with the tides and currents, eelgrass often gathers in large
matts in coves, and along the banks of the marsh. Kelp, also known as
"Brant Salad"is a leafy green vegetation which ranges in size from a
couple inches in width to pieces larger than two feet in diameter.
Brant salad drifts around the bays beneath the surface. Tides, currents
and winds wash it across sandbars and flats. These coves, flats and
sandbars are where thousands of Brant gather to feed. Unlike that of
their larger relatives the Canada and Snowgeese, which rely on the
annual crop growth in the fields, the Brants food source is replenished
on a daily basis by the tides. Brant relocate throughout the bay as the
tide changes, in search of their preferred water depth. This depth can
range from just a few inches to over a foot deep. They feed like
Dabblers, seldom if ever diving for their food.

Typically the entire flock changes
location at about the same time. This massive flock breaks up into
smaller groups which travel in waves of usually fifty birds or less.
Flying like giant Teal, shifting and turning they follow the banks of
the bays, narrows and ocean beaches. They seldom fly over any large
land mass. At high tide they are most often found in the back bays. At
low tide they move out near the inlets to the ocean.The Brant's usual
wintering grounds stretch from the Southern New Jersey shore, south to
North Carolinia's Outer Banks. Virginia's Eastern Shore is located in
the middle of these wintering grounds. The vast unspoiled marshes and
numerous shallow bays in and around Chincoteague offer prime habitat
for Atlantic Brant.

Brant are one of the most vocal
waterfowl in the area, seldom quiet in flight or at rest. As with most
seaducks and divers, Brant have little natural fear of humans. They
decoy well and will often return two or three times to the spread after
being shot at. This apparent fondness of being shot combined with their
predictability and the huge numbers of brant in the area lead many
hunters to think Brant are a sure thing. They are not. The same forces
that replenish the Brants food supply can change its location. Wind,
tides, currents, ice and coastal storms can move the eelgrass and brant
salad miles from where the brant had been feeding. If the location of
their food changes, so does their flight path. Prolonged, severe
temperatures can push the birds further north or south. Unusually high
or low tides and other factors can change the Brants habits and
location. Building a Brant blind can be a major undertaking. They are
most often pole blinds, built out in the open water of the flats and
sand bars, so it is not easy to adjust to unexpected changes in the
Brants flight path. Also, even the most understanding Brant eventually
gets tired of being shot at, so you have to be careful not to over hunt
your blinds. And don't forget that inherent problem that we have with
all waterfowl, you still have to hit'em.

Brant are one of the first birds
to arrive on Virginia's Eastern Shore and one of the last to migrate
north so they are available throughout the hunting season. Along with
Bufflehead, Greater Snowgeese and Blackduck, Brant are one of the most
plentiful waterfowl on the east coast.

The Brants food quantity, as with
all game depends much on what they eat and how they are kept. They are
most desirable when they are feeding on eelgrass. If they have been
eating brant salad you may have to add more garlic. Brant are typically
breasted, not plucked and this should be done a.s.a.p. The recommended
shot size for Brant is #4 Hevi-shot or #2 Hevi-METAL. Although they are
geese, Brant are about the same size as the average Blackduck. They are
easy to recognize with their sharp pointed wings and erratic flight.
They are jet black from their head to and including their breast, with
a contrasting white rear end. The white slashes on their neck are not
noticeable at a long distance. They make enough noise to wake a normal
person from a sound sleep and are found in areas not typically used by
most other birds. The most common mistake made by brant hunters is
flock shooting. This can result in that distant look on the hunters
face as he watches the birds depart after unloading on 50 decoying
birds at 20 yards. But more often than not there will be too many birds
lying in the decoys, and you know how sensitive the federal guys are
about that.